Persistant Table of Contents anomaly

[Paul B]

Hi,

For some reason, in one file I have an entry in the ToC which is
not behaving. All the headings in the file are H3. They display
with the heading content, followed by a leader line of periods
and finally by the page number aligned Right.

All but one, that is. There are a good dozen headings that
behave, but in one the page number follows the heading name,
ironically titled "Failure", by one space and no leader line.

I've tried jostling the entry by changing heading level, ToC
style used, and by adding words to the heading content, but
nothing has worked.

Is there some way to get at this?

Thanks,
p.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The issue may be where your tab stops are set. If you have a tab stop (or
hanging indent) set such that the entry "Failure" ends to the left of it,
while all the longer entries end to the right of it, then that could be the
problem (the tab is going to the nearer tab stop rather than the one at the
margin). Or it could be that selecting that entry and pressing Ctrl+Q would
cure it.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul B]

The issue may be where your tab stops are set. If you have a tab stop (or
hanging indent) set such that the entry "Failure" ends to the left of it,
while all the longer entries end to the right of it, then that could be the
problem (the tab is going to the nearer tab stop rather than the one at the
margin). Or it could be that selecting that entry and pressing Ctrl+Q would
cure it.

Apparently you are correct. I added a few words to the heading
content and it was fine. I had tried that before but maybe with
not enough characters - which I don't understand, since my H3
style has only one tab stop, at 0.5".

I removed that tab stop but that didn't help. I ended up adding
half a dozen periods after the word Failure. That displays in the
ToC perfectly, blending in with the leader, but it messes up the
heading display itself a bit. I tried using Hidden font for the
periods, but that hides the leader in the ToC, and probably is an
unwise thing to do anyway.

Another thing I don't get is why I have leaders in the ToC at
all, though I want them, since my H3 specifies None.

Anyway, thanks very much for your help. I have an increased
knowledge of the problem and a somewhat workable solution.

p.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you don't want the period leaders, modify the TOC 3 style to remove the
leader from the tab stop.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul B]

If you don't want the period leaders, modify the TOC 3 style to remove the
leader from the tab stop.

No, I do want them. What I don't understand is why they are
there. There are no tab stops, and leaders are set to None, for
ToC 3, yet they appear.

p.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There is no "None" setting for leaders for specific TOC levels other than in
the styles themselves. If you go to Modify Style for TOC 3 and choose Format
| Tabs and choose the tab that represents the page number position, do you
see "None" selected for the leader?

A shortcut would be to double-click this tab stop on the ruler, which would
open the Tabs dialog. Make sure the tab stop has no leader assigned, then
click OK. Assuming the TOC styles are still set to update automatically,
changing this for one TOC 3 entry should make the change in the TOC 3 style.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul B]

There is no "None" setting for leaders for specific TOC levels other than in
the styles themselves. If you go to Modify Style for TOC 3 and choose Format
| Tabs and choose the tab that represents the page number position, do you
see "None" selected for the leader?

A shortcut would be to double-click this tab stop on the ruler, which would
open the Tabs dialog. Make sure the tab stop has no leader assigned, then
click OK. Assuming the TOC styles are still set to update automatically,
changing this for one TOC 3 entry should make the change in the TOC 3 style.

I see. The leaders are coming from the ToC settings. I'm seldom
there, usually constructing the ToC via macro, so I forgot. That
explains why I have leaders though they're not specced in the ToC
paragraph styles.

bw,
p.